LSSU to bring candidates for president to campus

Thursday

Nov 7, 2013 at 1:30 PM

The Lake Superior State University committee that is charged with finding the university’s next president will be bringing two candidates to campus in the coming weeks.

Thomas Pleger Ph.D., campus executive officer and dean of the University of Wisconsin-Baraboo/Sauk County, will visit campus Nov. 10-11, and Joan Poor Ph.D., provost and vice president of academic affairs at Truman State University, will visit Nov. 17-18. Details on a third candidate and campus visit are yet to be determined.

“We are very pleased to be bringing these two excellent candidates to meet the LSSU and Sault Ste. Marie communities,” said Patrick Egan, chair of the search committee as well as the LSSU Board of Trustees. “This is the opportunity to orient the candidates to our campus, our culture, and for us to understand the people who seek this very important post.”

The search team has been working through the year to find a replacement for current LSSU President Tony McLain, who announced in 2012 that he would be retiring in the coming year.

The candidates will get a tour of Sault Ste. Marie and campus on the first day of their stay, followed by dinner with the LSSU Foundation and a meeting with students in the evening. On the following day, they will have breakfast with members of the community and then meet throughout the day with a variety of campus employee groups. They will conclude their visits with a meeting and dinner with the LSSU Board of Trustees, including past members of the board, and members of the search committee.

Both candidates have extensive experience in academic settings, and both are currently working at universities with a smaller student population.

Pleger has been campus executive officer and dean of University of Wisconsin-Baraboo/Sauk County since 2006. The liberal arts/professional studies campus is part of the University of Wisconsin system. Pleger is responsible for all aspects of campus operations, including academics, physical plant, student life, budget, governmental and community relations, foundation and fund raising.

Under Pleger’s tenure at UW-BSC, enrollment has increased and the campus has added several academic programs, including a partnership with the Wisconsin in Scotland study abroad program. It has also expanded its collaborations with other universities, local businesses, community groups and area school districts, and it has made significant improvements to the campus physical plant and grounds. The campus is designing a new science facility that will open in 2015 and is in the final stages of negotiating a private/public partnership for student housing that is set to open in 2014.

Pleger’s previous experience includes work as associate campus dean from 2001-2006 at UW-Fox Valley, where he also taught in the Dept. of Anthropology and Sociology. He has also taught at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisc., UW-Madison, UW-Marinette and at UW-La Crosse, where he formerly served as an adjunct research archaeologist for the school’s Mississippi Valley Archaeology Center. Pleger is a former UW System Teaching Fellow and speaker for the Wisconsin Humanities Council. He is also president-elect of the Council of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters.

Pleger holds master’s and doctoral degrees in anthropology/archaeology from UW-Madison, and a bachelor’s degree in political science from UW-La Crosse. His research is focused on the archaeology of the western Great Lakes.

P. Joan Poor has been provost and vice president of academic affairs at Truman State since July 2012. She oversees budget, personnel and academic programming for five academic schools that encompass traditional liberal arts and sciences programs, education, health sciences and business. In this position, she has put an emphasis on international learning experiences, developing course offerings in Shanghai, and established a faculty professional development center through a collaborative process with academic leaders on campus.

Prior to her work at Truman, Poor was the first dean for Bemidji State University’s College of Arts and Sciences, which included 110 full time and adjunct faculty teaching 1,500 students in 30 departments and programs. She administered graduate programs in environmental science and secondary education programs, and developed articulation agreements with the community and tribal colleges.

Poor has taught and/or held administrative positions at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, Rhodes University in South Africa, Rochester Institute of Technology, University of Maine, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and several other institutions, including work with divisions of the Government of Canada.

Since 2010, Poor has worked with the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools as a consultant-evaluator and member of visiting teams that evaluate and advance institutional quality and recommend accreditation actions.

Poor holds a doctorate in natural resource/environmental economics from University of Nebraska, a master’s degree in natural resource management and bachelor’s degree in agriculture, both from University of Manitoba.

Much more information on both candidates is available on the LSSU web site for the search, www.lssu.edu/presidentialsearch.